


Way Out Here

by Gildedmuse



Category: Firefly
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Post-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 11:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18799090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gildedmuse/pseuds/Gildedmuse
Summary: Simon takes care of everyone that Mal insists on putting in danger.





	1. Family

 

**Way Out Here**

**Chapter One: Family**

 

Daddy always told her, gotta make use of every hour the good Lord gives you.

 

Now, Anne ain't always right, but she is damn sure he didn't mean for her to be wasting precious God-given hours chasing about her wayward son. Plenty of work needs doing. Rounding up the cattle, cleaning the barn, equipment upkeep. Hell, she could even be helping with the food, though Joseph had long ago banned her from being left alone in her own gorram kitchen. Says it won't do to have her poisoning the men with her cooking. Still be better than spending the afternoon in town, searching out that boy of hers.

 

"Malcolm!" She has it in her to kick the saloon doors down, just so if Mal is about he knows she ain't to be messed with or lied to. But Anne don't want to go storming through the whole town, so she settles on just swinging them wide open, wearing that expression she never understood her mom wearing until she went and had a babe of her own.

 

Men with guns and girls on their laps look away when the light floods in from around Anne's set shoulders. Won't stand for her hired help being caught slouching around this place during work hours, never mind her own flesh and blood. "Malcolm, boy, you best not be around here."

 

Only one brave enough to look up is a boy no older than her own, sweeping up the messes left under the tables. "Excuse me, Anne, your boy can be a fool at times, but he'd have to be plenty more than stupid, comin' to a place like this when you're lookin' for him." Li sets his broom against a table, giving Anne a polite tip of his hat. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of him."

 

Li comes from good stock. Anne trusts him not to be lying to her. Not even if it would save Mal's ass. Boy is also plenty smart, knows better than to lie to her face. She'd had more than enough practice with Mal to figure out when someone is lying to her. "Thank you kindly. And how's your mamma doing?" Even with Mal running about, ain't no reason to be rude to a sweet boy like Li.

 

"Getting rounder every day," Li replies with a proud glow. "Thanks you plenty for the milk you've been bringing by. Says it's just about the sweetest thing she's ever tasted."

 

"You just come along any time you be needing," Out on a planet like Shadow, ain't always enough doctors and the likes to look out for folks. Li's a fine boy, taking care of his mamma while her husband's off making himself into a solider. But he's still just a kid, and everyone needs some help from time to time. That's what folks do out here now and again. Look out for one another. Help.

 

"Oh…" Leaning in until he can whisper to Anne, Li adds, "Says to be careful, too. What, with Jackson Rits back in town."

 

And just like that, Anne knows where she'll be finding that chunrén of a boy. "Oh, I always do," she promises, patting his shoulder before turning herself around and heading right down to the docks.

 

Ships coming to these parts are mainly looking to carry off cattle or wheat - two things the ‘verse can't do without and Shadow just happens to have plenty of. Never could tell what a fella like Jackson Rits would show up to this little rock. That's what called to Anne to him the first time around. What got her in trouble with him, too.

 

"Malcolm Reynolds!" The sounds of ships and folks at work don't do much to drown out Anne's voice as she marched herself up the ramp onto Jackson's old boat. She can already see her son, his shoulders going tense. At least he's got the sense to know he's found himself trouble.

 

Gorram right he has. Would have rather found him with his hands up Chandra's shirt again then find him in this mess. "Mamma," he grumbles, turning himself around but keeping his eyes low. Gonna take a whole lot more than that to get him out of this. "I -"

 

"Well there. We're looking plenty fine today, Miss Annabella." Jackson steps into the light, looking just as pretty as he had to her twelve years ago. More rough in the face, maybe, but still as handsome as ever. Same smile he wore back when he talked her into bed, even. Only real difference is Anne. She's a hell of a lot smarter now.

 

"No one calls me Miss unless they have business they're doing with me," Anne shoots, laying a hand on Mal's shoulder, her eyes staying on Jackson. Boy looks so much like his father, she can see it more clearly than ever. Enough to give Anne a headache more than occasionally. "And you, Jackson Rits, you ain't got no business with me or mine."

 

"Seems to me," Jackson drawls, hands hooked into the belt hanging around his waist, rocking back and forth on his heels just as confident as any man had ever been when speaking with Anne. "What's yours is rightfully mine as well."

 

Oh, no. If Jackson thought he could land his ass back on planet and treat her and Mal this way, well Anne has quite the lesson to be teaching him. "Huí jia," she tells Mal, patting his shoulder and sending him off. He looks like he's about to open that smart mouth of his to protest, but one look from his mamma sets him straight. Shoulders slumping, Mal has the sense to turn himself around and shuffle on off the ship.

 

That just leaves Jackson to deal with. "I carried that boy, raised him up, saw to him," Anne hisses, hands resting on her hips, right over her gun. She ain't about to start a fire fight 'less she has to. Best he knows, though, just how serious she is when it comes to her son. One thing she won't stand to have Jackson mess with. "Boy is no more yours than I am."

 

Jackson don't look so shaken. He never had the sense to be scared when he should. "Gave him your daddy's name."

 

"Surely did. Boy deserves a good name, and you ain't got one."

 

The stare down don't last long before Jackson snorts, shaking his head. "Always was a firecracker, weren't you Miss Annabella?"

 

He jumps back a good distance when the bullet bites at the floor just next to his foot. Not that she was aiming to hit him or anything, just fun to watch him panic a bit. "Now, I said you're not to call me that, Jackson. Best you start listenin' to those who know better than yourself." Sliding her gun back in place just as smoothly as she'd taken it out. Can't help smiling at the number of creative curses she hears as she turns about and lets herself out.

 

"Ain't I told you to get back home?" Mal moves out from around the corner he'd been hiding himself around, taking one last look back at Jackson's ship before following along after his mamma. "You going deaf on me, son?"

 

"I hear just fine." Mal is making quite the show of straggling behind, boots kicking up a whole world worth of dust the whole walk. "Just thought I'd wait and see you off okay, that's all."

 

That's one of his worst excuses, and Anne's heard plenty coming from that mouth of his. "Wouldn't have to be down here at all if'n I didn't have to go chasin' you down to the docks." She ain't about to be giving Mal any time to wiggle his way out of this, as he‘d been developing a habit of ever since he‘d learned to smile all cute like as a babe. "Suppose to be helpin' Milo and Freddie out on the run."

 

Mal turns his face up ‘til he's glaring into the sun. Thinking. Should be wondering how much trouble he's heaped onto himself, but Malcolm never thinks on what he should be. "Don't see why I shouldn't get to see my own pa when he finally comes a-visiting."

 

"Well, now." Takes Mal a second before he realizes that Anne's stopped and to turn himself around. "Pa. Ain't what a funny word to be using. Suppose Jackson taught you that."

 

"Look just like him, don't I?" Mal bristles himself up. Trying to look nice and tough. Only Anne's dealt with plenty worse than a pouty young‘en, that's for sure. "I'm not a bèn dàn, you know!"

 

"Sure as a stampede, you're acting it." Mal looks to be about to open his mouth, but a swat to the back of his head stops that. "Best to be just listenin' to me, boy. That man ain't nothing more than a particularly annoying stranger happens to be passing through."

 

"Just cause you ain't taken by him," Mal tries to argue. Got plenty of independent spirit this one. Good. It'll do him plenty of good out here. Don't make Anne anymore fond of it in this moment.

 

With a sigh, Anne looks back towards the docks. "Ain't about that." She'd been plenty taken with him, same as Mal. Found him interesting, something different, something that ain't just another part of the practiced life of living on a ranch, never mind the good honest work she does. Anyway, it weren't anything more than a mistake. And not one she wants to let Mal suffer through. "Family ain't about being taken with someone. Ain't even about blood, you should know that."

 

Mal is staring like he don't quite know what to make of his own mamma right now. She just gives him a quick nod and is on her way, leaving the docks behind. "Your family is waiting for your help back at the ranch, working to keep you fed," Anne tells him, throwing an arm around her boy, leading him back home. "Best you be rememberin' that, Malcolm Reynolds. They‘re your family, ain‘t matter who you look like."

 

*

 

"River! River honey, slow down! Not a soul in the ‘verse can move that fast!" Kaylee laughs, trying to keep up with River as she spins herself about. Throwing herself into the dance with such an effortless fever that Kaylee is tripping over her heavy boots trying not to fall too far behind.

 

Simon has already giving up matching his sister. He stumbles back onto the stairs, grabbing hold of the railing right before he slips to the floor completely. He's flushed and breathing hard, can feel his face burning, and River just keeps spinning herself around, giggling as Kaylee leaps after her. "Nothing to tie me to the floor." Now she is just acting like a little brat. Mocking him because Simon never could keep up with River's dancing. "No orbit, no gravity. Free."

 

River's pink skirt clashes hard with the harsh colors of the boxes piled around them, Kaylee's boots are heavy and loud against the grate, plus there is still that rotting smell of the fertilizer they had been carrying, and today the cargo hold feels almost indecently like a home. Warm and filled with the sounds of happiness and some folk music Kaylee had set up through the comm system, all of it bouncing through the small ship.

 

"She's quite a sight like this, isn't she?"

 

Gaisi, he's been caught. Simon attempts to pull back his smile, running a hand through his hair and straightening his vest. Even when the silk of Inara's gown brushes the back of his neck he keeps his eyes on Kaylee and River's playing. Acting like a watchful older brother should, not some sha gua child enjoying himself.

 

"Mm, yes. She loves showing off," Simon answers, voice as steady as he can make it to try and hide his own dancing earlier. Too much warmth leaks into him, thinking back to the way River use to sit him down and make him watch her dance back home. Practically told him when to clap, being his bratty little sister. God, he's missed her.

 

He is a doctor, he shouldn‘t be acting this way. Particularly not these days. Zoe and the captain have both found themselves in the infirmary far too much for Simon's taste. Finding fights even when there are plenty of people who still bring them unasked. Job may be easier now with the alliance spread so thin, but it takes more money than the crew can pull to keep the ship from falling back apart, and the jobs are still plenty dangerous. And even when they do get paid, no amount of credits can repair everything.

 

This isn't the time to be dancing or smiling or thinking of life back home.

 

"Simon!" River shrieks as Kaylee twirls her about, pausing to beam up at her brother. All it takes is one smile from her and he can’t help grinning back, laughing when River laughs. She hasn't smiled like this since Osiris. No… He doesn't think he's ever seen her quite as happy as she is now, dancing around the ship.

 

He knows better than to let this get to his head. Knows she could still be hurt any time, what with all the countless things those cán bào zhe did back at the Academy. Most of the time Simon hasn‘t the slightest idea what she is saying, although that could just be River. At least the nightmares are gone, and she has her laugh back.

 

Still, Simon tries to stay somber out of respect, but she acts so much like his little sister. He can't always hide his happiness in time.

 

A gentle hand settles over his shoulder, like she's trying to take soothe out the tension coiled in his shoulders. "You deserve this happiness." It's a wonder how Inara can keep her voice so soft, yet still be heard over any amount of Mal's yelling or, in this case, Kaylee and River's giggling. "This ship has been so heavy lately."

 

"Maybe it needs that," Simon replies, watching River throwing herself into the music. Wild with laughter, moving so fast that Kaylee has to stop, leaning against some boxes to try and catch her breath as River swings herself around the ship. It isn’t right to be so happy when there are people on the ship suffering. Simon is a doctor, he's meant to help the suffering, not sit around acting like a xué tóng.

 

"Hey now, I paying for you to be dancin' about my ship or keeping her up in the air?"

 

Simon grabs the railing, hauling himself to his feet as he catches sight of the captain limping onboard the ship. That would be because his leg is torn open, blood spilling out and the captain not even trying to put it under pressure. It honestly amazes him at times, how the crew seemed unable to land without someone getting shot, stabbed, hit, or tortured.

 

Zoe and Jayne follow in, and at least neither one of them seem to have developed new battle wounds. Maybe Zoe has finally starting listening to him and stopped throwing herself into every fight that comes along. More likely, Mal had just found a special way to upset someone.

 

"Cap'n…" Kaylee is still breathing hard, but the happiness slips off her face quickly seeing the blood staining his pants. "You're bleedin' something bad…"

 

"And you still ain't back getting friendly with the engine like I told you. Zoe, tell that gaisi de fei xíng yuán to get us the hell outta atmo." Zoe gives a nod, not looking too hard at either Simon or Inara as she passes them to tell their… is it fifth? Seventh? Pilot in the last four months they need to get off planet. Simon hasn't even bothered learning the names of the last few. They inevitably show up in his infirmary with a black eye or split lip, and all of them end up leaving after the first decent planet they can escape to.

 

Simon catches Kaylee looking up at him, heart breaking all over her face. Like she expects him to do something. What can he do but patch the captain back up again? It isn't as though he listens to anything Simon tells him. He wouldn't have managed to pop his stitches all those countless times if he had just listened to Simon. He may not want to admit some - what had he called him only the other day? - right, some core-bred dandy knows best, but Simon didn't go through four years at Med-Academy just to be out ranked by some liúmáng of a captain.

 

"Simon!" He just has time to hold onto the stairs so he doesn't stumble backwards right after picking himself up.

 

Clutching at the railing, he waits for some breath to return before giving a weak, "River…" He's forgotten just how sneaky she can be, getting inches from his face without him realizing she's moved at all.

 

Of course, she doesn't look the slightest chastised. Just keeps beaming up at him. "Simon," she repeats, grabbing for his hand. "Come on, dance with me."

 

"Doc." Mal leans from around the corner, following Zoe up the stairs. "Don't think I'm paying you to be standing about, either. Ain‘t any single soul here don‘t got a job to be doing, you hear me?"

 

Simon glances back at the captain, lips pressed together tightly. This is exactly why he shouldn‘t have let River get to him, shouldn‘t have been caught smiling like a fool while the captain was out getting himself cut up. "Not now, mèimei," Simon whispers, knocking some hair from her eyes. River just looks back at him, brow furrowed. Hurt.

 

"No time for dancing," River mutters, her voice too distant, and Simon just knows that he's missing something. Like following River dancing, it's near impossible to keep up with her steps. "No time for dance, no music, empty. Caught in the field. Force of gravity keeping you in your place."

 

"Not now, River," Simon repeats as gently as he can, like he's speaking to a child. A child who cocks her head, giving Simon a look that says he's an idiot if he can‘t understand something so incredibly obvious.

 

She's too clever for her own good sometimes. He's been telling her that since she was three.

 

"Hurry yourself up, doc," the captain yells, loud enough to make Simon wince as he turns and heads towards the infirmary, refusing to look back at River. "Don't much want to spend all tomorrow wipin' my own blood from my ship."

 

"It would help if you didn't lean your weight on it like that," Simon suggests, rubbing at his temple while Mal knocks some supplies from the gurney before pulling himself up. Sure, Simon didn't need those things organized and unbroken. Honestly, for a man constantly complaining about the cost of keeping up the infirmary, it seems he could take better care of the supplies they‘ve already paid for.

 

Simon slips on a pair of gloves as Mal rips open his own pants, giving Simon a good look at the cut. It's deep. Deeper than just a chance meeting with the wrong end of a blade. More like someone dug a knife into him before ripping it out with the intention of cutting into as many muscles as they could. "Do I even want to know what you've managed to do to yourself?"

 

"Ain't me that done it," Mal says, holding his leg out straight as Simon tries to clean some of the blood away so he can see how much damage has actually been done. Even once he's managed to clear the site, it's still a grizzly looking slash. "Just trying to have myself a friendly talk with some contacts, nothin' more."

 

"You have a strange definition of friendly, captain." Simon's expression doesn't change as he starts stitching the skin back together, slipping into being a doctor instead of…. Well, that is really all he is to Mal, regardless of what else is going on. With River, of course, he’s the big brother, and while things with Kaylee have been odd lately, well, she certainly thinks of him as Simon before a medic. When the captain looks at him, he sees - what had he said - a job to be done.

 

Fingers careful not to shake as he works up the captain‘s leg, trying to leave the skin as smooth as he could. Not that Mal would mind another obvious scar. "Aren't contacts the ones we're nice to?"

 

"Sometimes like to shake things up a bit." Mal grins, turning it straight into a wince when Simon applies some more pressure to cut back on the bleeding. "Got the job, anyway."

 

"Oh, good." Simon is rather sure that proper doctor's aren't supposed to sound like they're rolling their eyes at their patient's stupidity. Mal has forced Simon to wonder how long he really could have lasted on Osiris if enough people like the captain had begun getting under his skin. Certainly the hospital would frown at Simon's tone right about now. "As long as we got the job, I guess the nerve damage was worth it."

 

"Gorram right it is." Either Mal doesn't notice the sarcasm or else is just choosing to go on ignore Simon. Seeing as he has had plenty of practice ignoring just about any medical advice Simon has tried giving him (no leaving this bed for the night, no heavy lifting for a couple of weeks, stop fiddling with that), it wouldn‘t surprise him in the least if he decided to just make his stubbornness permanent.

 

A truly good doctor doesn‘t let patients get to them worked up. With Mal, Simon can't always help what the captain does to him. Leaves him shaking, eyes half closed as he tries to concentrate on sewing him up and not causing him more bodily harm for being such a fool. It's almost like he wants to end up on Simon's table, so beaten that there is nothing he'll be able to do. Useless and waiting as the captain dies.

 

A truly good doctor would take in a deep breath right about now and not let their mind get clogged with those sort of thoughts while he is working. No matter how upset Simon gets with the captain, he doesn't want him to wind up dead. It's just frustrating, thinking Mal doesn't want the same. Doesn't seem to care how badly he ends up hurt. Just keeps getting himself in trouble all over again and leaves Simon to stitch him back up.

 

"Not that I‘m questionin‘ your fine schoolin'," Mal starts in a way that tells Simon that he is doing just that. Trying to push his buttons, since apparently one stab wound a night just isn't enough. “but you seem to be taken your sweet time down there, doc. Gotta ship to run here, so tell me, you almost done down there?"

 

Simon bites his lip, his eyes staying on Mal‘s leg. Still will need to wrap it or Lord knows Mal will probably just end up itching at all the stitches that Simon has put in. "If I tell you to rest a few hours will you listen to me?"

 

"Don't think I will, no," Mal admits with a half smile, like it is some how cute to go around injuring himself and undoing all Simon‘s hard work.

 

He slides the needle into Mal's arm, as simple as that. The captain doesn't ask, so Simon feels no need to tell him about the sedatives. If the captain listened to him properly, then it wouldn't make any difference if his resting were drug induced or not. "Then no," Simon answers tightly, stripping off his bloody gloves and going to get some proper dressings for the wound. "I won't be finished for a few more hours. Stay put."

 

*

 

Kaylee pokes her head into the bridge, smile and hair both streaked with grease. Hadn‘t had much too do down at the engine, not ‘less they got some new parts for her to play with, but she hadn‘t been wanting to hurt her captain by asking for ‘em again. She's doing what she can, she don't want her baby to go down any more than the captain does. Just starting to run out of things she can rewire and patch up that don't cost them no more money.

 

"Everything's shiny, ready to go," she announces, keeping up her smile even when neither Zoe or their newest pilot look back at her. Just stay staring at one another, Zoe's fingers wrapped tight around the girl's wrist, a plastic dinosaur dangling from her hand. Kaylee is cheerful, not blind. She knows there's plenty wrong going on up here for Zoe to be openly scowling like she is.

 

Wash's toys have stayed put, even after they had to replace most of the other parts on her girl. Waiting for their real pilot to come back to them, Kaylee likes to think. No one could fly her like Wash, not that the captain had given most of their newer pilots the chance. Kaylee hardly got to smile at them at all before they hopped right back off, usually adding in some pretty hurtful stuff about her girl or her captain. No need for that, just because they got scared off. Serenity's a wonderful ship, don't matter what they say.

 

"Thanks, Kaylee." Zoe sounds so harsh, not that she hadn't always been a tough woman but… Kaylee remembers what Tracey had told her, about Zoe never smiling and the likes. Only Kaylee don't know that Zoe, she only knows the Zoe that laughs along with the rest of them and curls up in Wash's lap in the pilot seat when she don't think anyone knows about that. Ain't sure what to make of this changed Zoe.

 

Slow as a 46-Morton trying to take off from a dead stand still in space when their second thrust ain‘t been properly clean, Zoe lets go of the pilot's hand. The girl swallows hard before she sets the toy back in place, turning to start the engine sequence. At least this one seems to know how to treat a Firefly, not like that last sha zi they'd found. Didn't hardly know the difference between an reg-line and a hydraulic coupling much less what to do with ‘em.

 

"Set a course for Tarfair‘s port on Beylix," Zoe instructs, leaving the pilot with only a quick glare. Kaylee ain't so use to seeing - wait, what?

 

Her eyes go wide and Kaylee scurries after Zoe. "What'd ya mean Tarfair?" She asks, hurrying after Zoe down into the dining room. Something ain't right here, no way the captain would take them to Tarfair. He wouldn't. "We can't be going there?"

 

"Captain got us a job," Zoe explains simply, grabbing some protein and biting in. Use to be they would all take dinner together, only lately that ain't the case. Zoe or the captain is always off in the infirmary, and Simon is careful not to bring River out with new people about and, well, seeing how fast they go through pilots there is nearly always someone new about. Only Jayne and ‘Nara ever seem to turn up when Kaylee tries cooking anymore.

 

Not that her food is anything to get excited about, she knows as much. Nothing close to what the Sheppard could do with the same, but, well, seems Serenity keeps losing more family than she can stand.

 

Dinner don‘t matter, though. Kaylee knows everyone just needs time, but they don‘t need to be going around places like Tarfair. What job could they possibly pick up there? Certainly can‘t need money that bad unless… Aiya. "This ‘cause I've been asking for those new parts?" Kaylee asks, biting hard at her lip, tasting some of the grease she's left there. "Cause I promise, Zoe, can rewire some more things, maybe see if I can take any bits from one of the shuttles, don't need it that bad, swear to you."

 

And for just a second, Kaylee sees a hint of a smile on Zoe's face, or at least her eyes seem to lighten some. "Not your fault, little one," she promises. "Just where we're headin' is all. Don‘t you worry."

 

"Guess you're right…." Kaylee wipes her face on the back of her shirt, still feeling shaken. Maybe she should talk with the captain, just to make sure. She don't want him to think she needs the parts that bad. "Cap'n wouldn't trade in that kind of thing, anyway," she points out, feeling a bit more certain now. No, not her captain. He's too good of a man for that sort of thing. "Must be for something else. I…"

 

"Why don't you go check on him," Zoe asks, leaning against the counter as she eats her meal. Not that protein bars are much of a meal, but with the money they have been using trying to repair the ship, sometimes it's the best they got around anymore.

 

"Oh, I…" Kaylee frowns a bit, pulling at strings of her hair, pushing them back over her ear. "Simon is takin' care of him, I'm sure. Don't want to be a bother while he's working."

 

Zoe's all frowning again, but at least now she don't look so scary. Just like old Zoe, all worried about people. Especially the captain. Lately, plenty of worry about their captain going around. "Something wrong between you and the doctor?"

 

"Oh!" Kaylee shakes her head hard, realizing how she must be sounding. Ain't about to open her mouth and pour her heart out to Zoe and her and Simon's troubles, no sir. Ain't half as hurting as Zoe must be. "Oh no not like that just… He‘s been real busy lately, worrying about his sister and the trouble cap‘n keeps getting himself into. That‘s all."

 

And just so she'll believe it herself, even if Zoe is looking at her like she knows Kaylee ain't telling the truth, she repeats, "That's all."

 

*

 

He could hear some ruffling behind him, grunts of pain as Mal tries to stand. Well, he rather deserves that for not staying put right after Simon had told him not to go moving about, trying to warn him off pulling anything. He tries his hardest to ignore the little sounds until there is the clatter of a certain stubborn fool falling against his counters. "Oh, wèi ài…"

 

Mal has the nerve to chuckle, and Simon conscious reminder that he is a doctor. He took an oath, one that doesn‘t allow him to hurt a patient no matter how annoying they are. Though he is starting to wonder if perhaps they would have left that slightly more vague, had Hippocrates ever had to put up with a patient half as frustrating at the captain. "That the kind of language they teach you at that academy of yours?"

 

"I have had five year olds with missing limbs who make less of a fuss," Simon huffs, giving Mal a harsh look. Not that it does anything to make Mal behave. And of course he's already scratching at his thigh. "Don't - don't do that!"

 

Simon rushes off, pushing Mal's hand away from his own leg. "Don't scratch at them like that, you'll tear them and I just finished. I would appreciate you at least waiting until you get back to your own bunk before you go ruining my work."

 

The most he gets for all his worrying is a shaky looking smile, lopsided and a little too endearing - what, with Mal being an ass to him only moments earlier. "You trying to get yourself into my bunk, doc?" Oh… Oh. It finally occurred to Simon that perhaps he shouldn't have given a man who lost that much blood quite so much of those sedatives. If he'd been paying attention to the dosage instead of letting his mind go ranting on about Mal's lack of care for his own safety, but regardless of how selfish Mal could be Simon is still suppose to be the doctor. Which meant paying attention, even in the captain's presence.

 

"I'm trying to get you lying down," Simon argues, pushing Mal's shoulders to urge him back down. Did the captain just laugh at him? Is Simon missing the part where this is amusing?

 

"Sure thing, doc…" Mal seems a little more than unsteady, grabbing onto Simon's shoulder to keep his balance as he finally gives in and lets Simon lay him down. "Anything you're asking."

 

"That's quite the generous offer, captain." Simon finally gets him to stop moving so he can wrap up his leg. Only after swatting his hand away about three more times with Mal trying to itch his wound. "Are you sure it isn't the drugs talking?”

 

"What drugs?" Mal's smile slips, his eyelids drooping as he stares up at Simon. Ah well, maybe it would have been better to leave that part out. Simon looks back down at the wrap, refusing to look up at the captain. "You've been doping members of my crew again? Mainly, me?"

 

"You lost a lot of blood, you need to rest," Simon tells him, still keeping his hands busy with work. He feels strangely guilty, forcing Mal into resting even if it is what is best for him. He opens his mouth, nearly just spilling out an apology, how this is nothing like Jayne. He isn't afraid when Mal is in charge, he just wants to make sure that he's healthy enough that he can go back to giving orders and nearly getting himself killed.

 

Only his mouth snaps shut realizing how silly such things would sound. He is the doctor here, after all. He shouldn't have to explain why it isn't a good idea for the captain to go roaming around the ship and getting himself hurt all over again.

 

Besides, when he does finally meet Mal‘s eyes, they‘re already near closing. Hard to argue with drugs running through the blood he does have left, and Simon should be ashamed of how relieved that leaves him. "Better wear off soon enough," Mal mutters, words slurring together. "Gotta job to do. Need that money, keep us up in the air."

 

"Is that the only thing you want, captain?" The only answer Simon gets for his pain is a rather undignified snore. "Because I rather prefer you living, in the air or not."


	2. Trade Lines

**Way Out Here**

**Chapter Two: Trade Line**

  


"Simon?"

  


Jayne pauses, twisting back to get a look down towards Kaylee's back. Might be big, but he's plenty good at sneaking, enough to keep himself from getting heard. Just have to keep his boots from clanging about, that's the trick to it, and Jayne can slide up nice and pretty against the wall. Where he can hear Kaylee's own boots falling heavy-like down the stairs. "Simon?"

  


Now, there ain't much reason for Jayne to be interested in this, but he figures he'll listen in all the same. Make sure that prissy little doctor Mal picked up ain't about to hurt Kaylee none. Hey, he ain't nearly so dumb as people go thinking. Knows enough to see when Kaylee's pouting around the ship cause her heart's all messed up. Must be what it is, cause, as far as Jayne sees, no one else on board Kaylee gets flustered around like she does with that boy.

  


Nah, see, he's plenty smart, probably a damn sight smarter than that dandified doc. After all, he ain't the one getting himself snatched by hill folk or hit around by every rutting fed comes at 'em. No, that pretty boy ain't nearly as smart as he figures himself.

  


"I… Oh, Kaylee. Hi…" See, Simon must be a gorram fool. That ain't no way to be talking to a girl you wanna be seeing' naked, falling all around your tongue like he is. Girl wants a man who can use his mouth proper-like, and not in the way Simon's always trying with his fancy medical speak.

  


Shame, too, Jayne considers as he leans himself hard back against the wall, boy has a pretty mouth on him. Kaylee probably wants it used in all sorts of ways, and that gorram fool ain't got the first clue on what to do besides flap it at folks all high and mighty-like.

  


"How's the cap'n doing?" Jayne can hear Kaylee being all nervous. Ain't like her at all, usually too rutting cheerful and open. Enough that Jayne's gotten himself in trouble telling her to close that mouth of hers. Only so much of that damn chattering on a man could take. Might make themselves a fine couple after all, doing nothing but wasting air.

  


Jayne snorts, quickly covering his mouth. Point to listening in is not letting the whole rutting 'verse know you're standing right there.

  


"He's, uh…" Jayne pokes his head out just enough to catch sight of the doctor doing his normal nervous antics. Boy can't hide a single gorram feeling, yet somehow managed to get away from the feds in one piece. Every time they get humped, they get their cargo took up and no pay. Ain't rightly fair. "He's good. Stable. He managed to lose a lot of blood, not that this is anything new to the captain.”

  


If it were Jayne saying such a thing the way Simon says it, Kaylee would have been pouting at him something fierce. Mal probably would have threatened a pay cut, if he'd been about to hear it. But since it's the good ol' doc well, no one gets themselves worked up. Treats that boy too rutting well, that's the problem. Spoiling him, like he should be all protected from the troubles of the 'verse. Just like he treats Inara, like just because some folks got some fanciful threads to put on they deserve being protected.

  


Course, he treats Kaylee 'bout the same, but that's cause she's a girl, ain't it? Needs some protecting every now and then, and it ain't like she's gonna get it from that doc of hers. Simon might be a mite to pretty, but he still ain't no girl. Don't need to be treated like one. They should throw him off on a rim moon a few days, really let 'em see what it's like for a man out there. Maybe then the doc could take care of his own ass and wouldn't have to be relying on this here boat to be saving him and his feng kuáng de sis.

  


"Well, that's good… That he's doin' good." Ah, hell, Jayne can actually hear all the nervousness sparking out between the two. Just need to get into each other's beds and get this over with. Kaylee would see the doc ain't nothing special outside his pretty clothes. "What 'bout you?"

  


"Me?" Probably frowning by now if he weren't already, all confused that Kaylee is so worried about him. It's a damn confusing thing, 'xcept Kaylee cares about everyone like that. You ain't nothing special, boy. "I, well, I'm-"

  


"You seemed so happy earlier, is all." Jayne makes a face, hearing the sound of ruffling up clothes. Probably moving in closer to the doc, like that will make him notice her something more. Playing up to the blind, poor girl. Ain't nobody that man gonna notice who ain't his sister. Hardly fair Kaylee has to be making a fool out of herself because the doc likes to act all sly. "Now you're all…."

  


"Tired," Simon fills in quickly. "The captain can be quite the challenging patient."

  


Ah, come on. Ain't that funny, what he said. Ain't funny enough to deserve Kaylee giggling after him like that. "Should of seen him before you got on," she points out, sounding all relaxed and happy now. "Way he treated Zoe anytime she'd make a try at stitchin' him up. Learned more creative cussin' from that than any of my brothers taught me all my years at home."

  


"Yes he does have quite the…. repertoire when it comes to exciting new and colorful phrases about my medical skills." Huh, strange how the boy almost sounds proud of the old captain for cursing him out as such. Least that is what Jayne is pretty sure he's meaning. Plenty bitter, too. Must be something they do teach back in those useless schools of his, how to sound all strange like that.

  


"He don't mean any of them, Simon," Kaylee assures him. "You're the best medic he's ever had stitch him up. Heard him say so himself more than a few times."

  


There is just a long enough pause to let Jayne know Simon ain't as confident as he's always actin' to be.

  


Jayne don't make it much of a secret when he goes stomping out. Hell, he don't wanna be listening to the two of 'em getting along none.

  


*

  


Is that laughter he's hearing? Better not be no one laughing at him.

  


Better not be someone laughing at all, Mal decides. Here he is, stuck on some gaisi nán shòu bed and someone out there has the nerve to be enjoying themselves. He's the captain of this here ship; if he's suffering, the crew should be doing the same right alongside him. Or at least mourning around him. If'n he can't have suffering all proper-like, then he at least wants some tears. Maybe even a few speeches about his captaining and the likes. Couldn't hurt to be hearing some of the crew talking on how much they love him, at the very least.

  


Then the whole room goes silent, and Mal is thinking he actually liked the laughter little more than that type of silence. "Excuse me, captain?"

  


Oh, hell, had he said that last part out loud? Well, can't very well pretend he's got full control of his tongue now, with whatever that gorram doc put him on. Powerful stuff, this. Shouldn't let him buy it next time he's making up his list of things that need buying. "Said you all should be crying over me, tellin' me how much you miss my captainin' this ship."

  


"Yes." Mal still hasn't managed to pry his eyes open. Don't need to know that Simon is probably wearing that blank look, trying not to smirk. Or maybe just smirking outright since Mal can't see him and all. "Because in the hour you were out, the whole crew degenerated into chaos and decided to rise up in mutiny."

  


There is that giggling again. Must be his Kaylee, always could tell her laugh from just about any other in the 'verse. "Always figured Zoe was just waitin' out her time. Wouldn't even trust me flying my own boat." Mal opens his eyes, grunting when the lights start to get in. World's a little blurry, but sure enough, there is Kaylee standing at the doorway. Can't see Simon, but he's sure the boy is busying himself like usual. "Might be a little woozy, son, can still tell when you're mocking me."

  


"You feelin' better, cap'n?" Kaylee wanders over to him, bending down so he can see her bright little grin. Really should have known she was around the second he woke up, when he was listening to Simon laughing on. Never do hear the boy laugh unless Kaylee is about, or that sister of his, when she is feeling less crazy. Hardly even smiles but to smirk when it's Mal. Boy just don't understand, things a man has to do to keep his crew together. "Simon patched you up right good."

  


"Sure he did a fine job," Mal says, reaching out to pat Kaylee's hand, only she seems to have grown a few extra fingers. Seems to be swaying a whole lot, too. Makes it hard to find her hand when she's moving like that. "Kaylee, stop that," he orders with a frown, trying to lay his hand over hers, only to be swatting at the air.

  


Ah, well, she ain't smiling no more. Can't be the best sign. "Not doin' nothin' captain."

  


"Yeah, you are," Mal accuses, narrowing his eyes to try and make sense of this mess he's gotten himself into. "You keep movin' about all shaky-like, and when you start growin' more fingers?"

  


Now Mal's world might be a little off at the moment, but he can still tell when Kaylee is looking down at him all concerned-like. Never could do much to cover up those feelings of hers. Never would ask her to, though. "Those are the drugs," Simon explains, stepping up next to Kaylee, doing the things he normally does when Mal is on this table of his. And Mal tries not to go on wiggling too much under his hands.

  


It's not that Mal ain't mighty appreciative to have a doctor onboard, but it ain't exactly the sort of thing he enjoys. Simon runs those cold, plastic-covered fingers over him, and it leaves Mal feeling like he's gone and died, like Simon is checking out a corpse and not a still-living body. Mal surely prefers to be living and treated as such. "They may effect your senses for a just while longer. If you stay resting, it should be fine."

  


"That's good, fine doc. Better wear off by the time we're set to Tarfair," Mal mutters, though he ain't sure it's good at all. Boy shouldn't be knocking him out without him knowing, only it's rather hard to be arguing when his tongue feels so heavy.

  


"It will," the doctor answers, little too much prim and proper in his voice there, and he's turned himself away. Like when he gets all upset with him. Now what has he even done to make the doctor that pissy? Ain't hardly said a word. "And if you're wondering, yes you'll be fine so long as you try and keep from getting shot, stabbed, or bled out again any time soon."

  


"Never doubted I would be," Mal answers, almost yawning through the words. "You got everything sorted away, Kaylee?"

  


Kaylee looks up at Simon, then back to Mal. If he keeps his head still and his eyes half closed, only looks like there is one of her. "Cap'n," she asks slowly, like she ain't sure if he can hear right, neither. "Know those parts I was talking about? Well, I don't think we need 'em so bad. I could do without some for a while longer. No need for them now."

  


"That's good," Mal mutters, closing his eyes again. Easier than trying to make all the doubles stop moving about. "Still, Tarfair can be rather cheap. You make up a list and give it to Zoe, see what we can get."

  


"Kaylee, the captain needs his rest." Thinks he hears Kaylee sniffling before she's gone, but that can't be right. Ain't she always happy when she's with Simon? Did sound a little cold there, but he knows that he can't be hurting Mal's littlegirl like that. Besides, lately he's been making her smile. Makes his sister happy plenty, too. And Mal… Well, he don't have the time to be happy now. Not a captain's place, not in times like these.

  


Got people to keep fed, people that need looking out for. Way Simon worked himself up over that sister of his, Mal had to do for a whole boatload of folks. Couldn't let himself slip to caring about other things. Sort of thinking like that, could get someone killed. Had gotten someone killed, and Mal ain't looking to make the same mistake again.

  


"Sir?" Just when he's closed his eyes, too, Zoe's gotta come in and disturb his sleep. He tries to answer, but his tongue still feels all sorts of heavy, hard to get himself answering just yet. "How's he doing?"

  


"He could use some more rest," he hears Simon's voice, steadier than Mal's own vision. Wouldn't be needing this rest if the doctor had kept his needles to his damn self. And why's he gotta be going and sounding so concerned for, like he sounds whenever he's talking about that sister of his. Don't need none of that. Mal did plenty well on his own, long before they got a medic on board. "But he’ll recover soon enough. It would be nice if he tried to take care of himself more quickly next time. Not that he'll listen to me, but if he wants -"

  


"You ain't nothing special, son."

  


He don't even think he could make his mouth move proper-like, much less speak out but then the shuffle nearby goes all still. Couldn't be sure without opening his eyes and getting all dizzy again, but he's more than willing to bet Simon is staring down at him with one of those closed-off frowns of his, the kind he gets when he starts his doctoring worry. "Excuse me, captain?"

  


Probably shouldn't have said anything, probably just made the good doctor think his patient is going insane. Besides, Mal ain't hardly sure why he said that at all. Isn't something Simon needs to be hearing, just something Mal needed to hear himself.

  


Ah, hell, why try and keep his tongue down when he's already started speaking? "Just 'cause you're so careful with everyone, makin' a few of 'em mite happy.. Don't make you anything special to me."

  


"Well, that's good to know, sir." Is it him, put all that bite into the boy's voice? Must be, don't seem there is anyone else around to ruffle him up. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

  


Mal gets his eyes back open in time to see the young doctor storming out. Don't do a very good job at it. Looks too calm, too proud to do a proper job of leaving in a huff. All this time out here, boy's still holding onto something like pride. Ain't he suppose to be smarter than that?

  


Even with the ship being rocked and split in two, Mal can still make out that disapproving look Zoe's wearing his way. "He drugged me!" Because that's a plenty good excuse for saying what he had.

  


"Didn't say anything, sir." Well, no, but Mal can always tell when she wants to. Maybe he should be thankful that she even looks like that, still. Lately, she doesn't give him any looks at all, just keeps staring forward, looking for something ain't there anymore. If Mal had been caring more about his own family, less about other things… "You sure about this, sir?"

  


He knows when it's his own damn fault, he's sure of that much. Only, oh, she would be talking about the job now, wouldn't she? Why's it Zoe's gotta sound so doubtful of him, times like these? Fine enough that he's got to quell down Kaylee's fears, and Inara ain't hardly talking him to him 'less he agrees to turn the ship around (who does she think she is, anyhow? Acting like she's owner of this here ship?) Can't be having her get on his case, just to add trouble.

  


Course when Zoe questions it, she does it in that dead serious voice of hers, so Mal ain't hardly sure if she is questioning him at all. Makes things just that much more confusing, and that is some added muddlement that Mal ain't needing at this time.

  


"You got another job gonna make us enough to live on?" Mal asks, wincing some as he shifts his weight about, trying to look confident. Only mostly looks painful, which it is. Plenty. Don't matter what the doctor said about resting, he's gonna have to be getting off this bed soon. What the good doctor don't get is that there are only so many jobs in this 'verse, and more than enough people looking to snatch one out from under you when and if they can.

  


Mal has to take care of his crew. Keep'em fed, watch out for them. Then he can worry about things like a little pain when he walks. 'Less Simon has a way to keep them all happy in that bag of his, he best just step down and let Mal do his job.

  


"Only job we got that pays and," he adds in quickly at her eyebrow raising. "We will get paid," Mal promises, not that things are ever that simple. Not many jobs in this 'verse, like he said, and not too many looking to lose money when they could just as easily shoot a few people to get what they're needing. Seemed to happen to him and his more than enough. "We meet these fine gentlemen, take up their cargo, and we're off planet with no trouble, dong ma?"

  


"Like all our other jobs, sir?"

  


Mal gives Zoe a look, hopes it's captain-like enough that she'll feel reproached, saying a thing like that. Zoe looks back, face just as blank as always. Means she ain't afraid of him at all. Never has been. "No, not like the other jobs," Mal argues. "This one's gonna go well."

  


"First time for everything," Zoe answers, heading right back out of the infirmary. "Best be getting your rest. Wouldn't want to upset the doctor further."

  


Maybe, Mal considers, letting his eyes fall closed again to stop that urge to vomit rising up in his gut, maybe the crew is right. Gotta be other docks that have some work for them, some town out there in need of a few ships like theirs. Has to be a better way to get paid than winding up here, dealing in cargo that could be damn near anything.

  


Hadn't properly occurred to Mal to be asking.

  


*

  


If there is a single man more frustrating than Captain Malcolm Reynolds - an idea Simon truly has trouble comprehending - then wo de tian, don't ever let him wind up on Simon's surgery table. The captain leaves him quite exasperated enough. He isn't so sure of his skills that he would put them up against someone who could do worse to his nerves.

  


Simon slumps against his doorway, trying not to bang his head too heavily back in case it catches someone's attention. In case it were to draw River’s attention. She’s been having so many good days, Simon doesn’t want to ruin that. River doesn’t need to know how frustrated the captain leaves her supposedly calm older brother.

  


As a good doctor, he wouldn't be having such thoughts about how easily worked up the captain leaves him. He wouldn't have walked out of the med-bay with a patient still lying there. Especially one as likely to try something as foolish as Mal would when left alone.

  


It's a full three days before they get to Beylix, that's what Kaylee had said. If he would just rest until then, maybe the stitching could set and everything would heal up properly. But, honestly, what where the chances of Mal taking good advice? It seems to Simon the captain would much rather wind himself up in more pain rather than giving Simon the satisfaction of having him following his orders.

  


Which just makes Simon wonder if he’s cut out for this work. Wouldn't a good doctor be able to keep himself calm with someone saying those sorts of things? Things he probably didn’t even mean, what with being drugged up. Things that weren’t even all that important seeing as Simon didn’t care what the captain thought of him, refused to let such things matter. Wouldn't a good doctor be able to keep his feelings separate from the patient? Sure as anything, someone with real talent could have helped River more than Simon has managed.

  


"Honestly, Simon," he grumbles to himself, picking himself off the door to stumble over into the small, cramped bunk. Thankful no one else is around to hear him going crazy. "Is thinking such things really going to help?" He's being selfish obsessing like this; what he could do if he only had more knowledge, a better temperament, maybe some equipment not purchased for cheap at some seedy medical store on a border moon.

  


He should try taking his mind of Mal. That's the best solution to this mess. Stop wondering how the captain can just throw himself into danger like that, not considering that it'll be Simon who has to patch him back together or that, worse yet, there could be a time he can't. Has it ever crossed Mal's mind what, exactly, this crew of his would do without him?

  


This is hardly helping. Maybe he should go talk to Kaylee, apologize for his cold dismissal earlier. She deserve that. No, she deserves more than that. More than Simon could possibly give her now, on the run and stuck on this ship becoming a worse doctor every day he has to deal with the captain. She deserves at least an explanation for why Simon thought having sex with her would be a fine idea. And after what had only just happened. No, because of what happened. How do you tell a girl as bright and wonderful and kind as Kaylee… How do you say I just wanted to make sure we were still alive?

  


There isn't a way, Simon decides as he undoes his pants, resolved to just stay in bed and perhaps read to clear his mind. No way to say such a thing without sounding like an ass.

  


"Because you are."

  


"River!" Simon pulls his trousers back up, fastening them as quickly as he could mange. He can't believe his little sister would… Just… Appear… "River?" Simon asks again, voice slightly calmer now. Not by too much, admittedly. "Where are you?"

  


Giggling, soft and muffled like she's trying to hide it behind her hand. "In your head, silly goose. Listening to your thoughts. Calling you an ass."

  


Simon pauses, his mouth hanging open. Perhaps it shouldn't shock him anymore, River knowing things she has no right way of knowing, but then it still has a way of making him nervous when she picks up on such things. "River, I…"

  


"Don't have to talk," River insists, playfully strict like when they use to play house of parliament and she insisted on being the prime minister. Just so she could order her older brother around, of course. "Just listen for once, Simon! So good with your hands, you never give your ears a chance. If you listened, you'd solved this puzzle a long time ago." More giggling, a little less muffled now.

  


"What are you talking about?" At least she sounds happy. No panic or hurry in her voice, just River messing with his head. In his head if she is to be believed, and he's never sure if he should… Mal had been right, they did something to her, but she's still River. She may know things, but that doesn't make her less of a teasing little brat.

  


"Kaylee doesn't think you're an ass, but you are," River informs him, making Simon wince. Ah, one of those talks. Wonderful, because he needs to be hearing this from his own sister. "Oh, don't act like that. I'm the voices in your head, Simon. You have to listen to me."

  


With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Simon bends down. "What are you doing down there, mèimei?" He frowns, hair falling over his eyes as he stares through the dark at his little sister. She's managed to curl herself up under his bed, tucked away nicely against the wall. "Get out from there, River."

  


River holds a finger against his lips, shaking her head. In the darkness under his bunk, Simon can barely make out her face. Just enough to see her smile fade, eyes going wide. "We have to hide, Simon. Count to twenty and disappear before they find us."

  


Is this a game? It's never clear. Is it one of her lucid moments, the kind she's been having so much more often now that the weight in her mind is eased some, or is this another fall back that Simon can't understand? It's almost impossible to tell unless River lets him know, and of course, she always have to tease him, pull him around and leave Simon wondering.

  


"His thoughts are mixed up."

  


Simon wraps his arms around River, pulling her out from under the bed as gently as he can. "I know, River, I just… I'm not sure what -"

  


"Not you," River answers with an exasperated sigh, like it hurts her so much to have to deal with Simon when he's being an idiot. It makes him smile. That's a rather familiar sigh, one he heard long before the government took her away. "Him…" She looks around her shoulder at the wall. Oh, through the wall. To Mal.

  


Simon looks back himself, like he can see the captain lying there. Or, more likely, making a fuss and itching at his bandages. "Well, I had to give him something to make him sleep, so he's probably rather-"

  


"He doesn't even know what to think, so he tries not to think at all. Doesn't want anything special, just family. Can't have it, though. Not enough blood." All of it said like she's trying to get Simon to understand, staring right at him the whole time with this look that begged him to know what she means. Only Simon just doesn’t understand, no matter how seriously River stares him down.

  


He scrubs at his face with his hands, trying not to sigh, to show how exhausted he is, but River's riddles, they drive his energy away. And he doesn't have too much of that left even before this.

  


A cool hand slides against his cheek, calling Simon’s eyes back up. River looks serene, smiling like she knows what she is smiling at, not like she's chasing ghosts in her head. "I love you," she promises, laying her head down against Simon's shoulder. "But you're an ass."

  


*

  


Ain't no other place in the 'verse quite like Tarfair, which is something to be thankful on.

  


Mal leaves instructions for no one to go wandering off, but for once he's not worrying on that. No one goes wandering off in Tarfair, least not if they plan on being seen again. Since all his crew got themselves a strong desire to be alive, he ain't too worried about them sitting put.

  


Takes Zoe along, of course. The others don’t think he’s gone and noticed, how she’s been just a little less cautious than she use to be. Well, he has, but that don’t mean it’s stupid to bring her along. Stupider yet to go without her, he’s sure of that. Considered leaving Jayne back to watch over the place, but then they don’t know these men and, well, mamma said you’d have to be a stupid son of a bitch to trust buyers to want to give you their money.

  


The meeting-up place, it ain't nothing more than a storage closet in the back of a barroom far as Mal can see. Supposedly a place for official business meetings, but not too much official business takes place in a port like Tarfair so there ain;t much room for it. Just a waste of space they could put prostitutes, drug dens, slave holds.

  


"Don't like being here early," Jayne growls, one hand at his gun and the other fingering along his knife. Not really any use to them if no one else shows up, but Mal ain't about to tell him to stop when it's keeping the man calm. They’re all jumpy enough in this small little space. Don’t need any stray bullets wandering about.

  


Besides, he don't entirely disagree. No one else has been here since they arrived, that can't be right. Contacts said they would meet them up here, and them being missing can only mean trouble. Then again, seems just about everything means trouble for his crew.

  


It gets to Mal enough that when the door does finally open, their client has three guns on him in an instant. Maybe not the best business sense, but no need to be takin' chances.

  


Looking down the barrels of some mighty fine weaponry, the man smiles.

  


"Captain Reynolds?" He asks, putting his hands up nice and slow, but he’s still wearing that smirk across his pretty face. Mal can't shake the feeling that no good can come from a man who grins like that with guns pointed right at him. "I'm sorry to be so late. I had some other business that needed attending."

  


"That so?" Mal lowers his pistol, glad to have Zoe and Jayne behind him with theirs still raised. No need to make the man feel too comfortable. "Don't much appreciate being kept waiting. Could have been troublesome for our schedule.”

  


"If you had anywhere to go," the man answers with a careless shrug. Now he's really starting to get on Mal's nerves. Sure, they don't got anywhere else they need to be, but they could have. Not for this man to decide now, is it? "Anyway," he adds, digging a bag from his pocket and tossing it to Mal. "I'm sure your payment will more than make up for any time lost."

  


Now Jayne drops his gun, leaning over to take a look as Mal opens the sack. Even got to swat his hand back to stop him from reaching in to finger the platinum. It is mighty pretty, though. Mal‘s tempted to touch his own self only he‘s busy being a bit more suspicious than that. "This is a lot of money for something we ain't done yet," he points out, shooting Zoe a nervous look. Fair enough, she may have been right on the stupidity of this job. The only thing he can think of that would get them this much pay for a simple smuggling is, well, it ain't something Mal plans to have on his ship.

  


"Oh, you've already done your part," the man assures Mal, his hands back in the air. Mal were a more paranoid man, might think he's being mocked by this little act. "The cargo is back at your ship."

  


"Don't think I agreed to that just yet," Mal points out, pocketing the coins and a fixing a glare on the man. Certain things he won't be having aboard, don't matter how desperate he's getting. Fact that this man is still smirking at him ain't doing much to calm his nervousness about this whole thing, neither.

  


"You agreed to it a long time ago, captain."

  


That is exactly the sort of talk Mal ain't looking to hear. "Mei, tamade húndàn," he spits, taking the bag back out, ready to hand it back and just end this. He ain't about to take money from a man seems to think he owns Mal's ship. That ain't the case, no matter what the cargo is. Ship is Mal's, no one else's to tell him what to do with it.

  


"Ah, hell Mal. That just ain't-"

  


"Why don't you just take this money back," he starts, ignoring Jayne's moaning. "Don't think we're the right crew for this here job and I'm sure you'd agree, no point to be wasting both our times."

  


"Nonsense." At least the man stops smiling, tucking his arms over his chest and glowering at Mal. Now that ain't a game he wants to be starting. If anything, Mal's the one here's got all the right in the 'verse to be scowling. "You're the only ones for this job, and I insist you take it."

  


"Well, that ain't how I work." Zoe's got her gun raised just a little higher, looking like she means some nasty business, this don't go their way. Jayne finally seems to be recovering from the shock of loosing all that money, has his rifle set in place.

  


"It's yours, captain. You earned it," the man promises with a snort, turning himself around and slamming the door as he backs out of the room.

  


Place gets an eerie amount of quiet as Mal looks from the door down to the money in his hands. What sort of man spends more money than he needs to be when Mal outright told him they wouldn't be pulling this job of his? Don't seem anything close to right.

  


"Want me to go and shoot him?" Jayne asks, leaning back over to look down at the bag of coins still in Mal's hands. Rolling his eyes, he tucks it safely in his pocket. Hell, he ain't so good a man that he feels the need to return it. Gotta keep his girl in the air somehow, now don't he?

  


"Nah." Mal pushes the door back open and takes a peek around. Looks like the man got himself long gone. Mal tries to ignore the feeling at the back of his neck. Could just be Zoe's glaring at him is all. Don't necessarily mean things are as bad as they play in his head. "Man heard me say loud and clear we wouldn't be taking his cargo on board. Still left the money with us," Mal figures, walking right out of the bar, careful to keep his eyes open in case the man realizes how much he left behind. "Hell, maybe this is just our lucky day is all."

  


Now what would posses him to go saying a thing like that? Second it's out of his mouth he sees a familiar figure running up to him. "Kaylee!" He snatches her by the arm, keeping her from running any further. Takes a good look at her too. Covered in grease, yeah, but no sign of blood or something worse. Means she's not hurt, which means by all Mal's figuring she shouldn't be off the ship. "What're you doing about? Told you to stick with the ship."

  


Kaylee looks like she can't breathe, much less get her tongue working. Even Jayne is beside her, making sure she don't fall down like it looks she's about threatening to do, shaking in his arms like that. "It's Simon!" She squeaks. "Went on the ship and took him!"

  


"Hell," Jayne says with a smug grin a little too much like the man back in the bar. "Maybe it's our lucky day after all."


	3. Don't Be A Hero

**Way Out Here**

**Chapter Three: Don't Be A Hero**

 

“Zoe!” Kaylee’s got these big, wet tears rolling down her cheeks. Mal don‘t think he‘s ever seen a girl laugh herself silly the way Kaylee can. There’s a sorta innocence to it, being that happy without driving everyone else damn near insane with it. “Gotta be lyin’ to us. Ain’t no way-”

 

“Oh, absolutely.” Zoe holds up her hand, swearing a sorta oath to the table so they’d know she’s speaking truths. Mal could attest to that, but he don’t think she’s needing any help. Already had Kaylee and Wash laughing like mad, and Simon covering his smile. Even that crazy sister of his has this grin in place, looking at Mal in ways makes him sure not to look back at her. Like she’s seeing right through’em.

 

“Course,” Zoe continues, like there is anything left to be telling. Already plenty happy, she could cut it out now. “Didn’t work out so well. Looked less like a geisha, more like a horse fell into a bucket a paint.”

 

Kaylee very nearly went and fell out of her seat, collapsing against Jayne who gives a small grin before pushing her back up. Hell, even that prissy doctor of theirs is laughing good and free now.

 

“Hey now.” Mal, for one, ain’t so amused, but he might be grinning just a touch. Woman knows how to tell a damn good story, that’s for sure. Helps that this is the first dinner in a long time Kaylee ain’t glaring at him, blaming him ‘cause Inara and Book went and left. “Think I prettied up nicely, myself.”

 

“Anything you say, sir.” Zoe ain’t even trying not to smirk, and little something like that’s all it takes to get the whole room laughing again.

 

“No, I can see it.” Wash leans right ‘cross Zoe, holding his hands up to Mal like he‘s getting him all dressed up in his mind. “Slap some makeup on him, get a nice kimono. Might make me consider leaving the wife here.”

 

Ain’t think he’s ever seen Zoe’s eyes look so wicked, not before she went and got with Wash. “You trying to steal my husband, sir?” She don’t see Mal rolling his eyes on account of her and Wash’s kissing.

 

Both Kaylee and Simon acting like kids, laughing over this entire scene. It ain’t as annoying as maybe it should be.

 

Ain’t so much that the boy never goes and smiles. Who knows, maybe he smiles plenty with Kaylee, or just around others. Ain’t something Mal sees much of, though. Rare enough that it makes these meals where they’re all together and laughing just a little more interesting. Breaking through all that properly raised mask to see the real person underneath all those fake alliance bred mannerisms.

 

Mal don’t get to see it much, not unless he’s gone and shoved the doctor into a corner. Like he use to do with Inara. Only way to break down those proper type.

 

Cào, now he’s gone and spoiled his appetite, thinking on that woman.

 

“No offense,” Jayne says, wagging his knife over at Mal, bits of meat stuck to the side. He‘s got that big, brutish smile on his face instead of arguing with Mal about jobs like he‘s been so keen on doing at every other meal this week. Another reason Mal‘s all to grateful for Zoe‘s distraction. “Ain’t needing ta be picturing’ ya runnin’ round in no skirt while I’m eatin‘.”

 

“Don’t think it’s a picture anyone’s needin‘.” Mal nods, taking a nice bite of the mystery dinner. River had gone and, in a moment Mal ain’t so sure was exactly sanity-lead, decided she needed to make‘em all a nice supper. And it proved to be a fine meal, too, just ain’t about to go questioning what is all in it, or where in the ‘verse the girl managed to get it from.

 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Kaylee is the only living soul Mal would let get away with giggling at him like that. “Wouldn’t mind havin’ a few pictures myself, cap’n.”

 

“It was for a job,” Mal stresses, like he ain’t having no fun being teased by the whole room. Truth to tell, it ain’t so bad. Not compared to what it coulda been. “Very serious stuff. Didn’t have time to stop and get a capture.”

 

“Yes.” Simon brushes clean the sides of his lips with his napkin, trying to keep that smile of his down so he can go looking like the serious doctoring type. “I’m sure it was very frightening. I‘m amazed you made it out of there alive. What with all those dangerous… tea ceremonies.”

 

“Ain’t as easy as it looks,” Mal ruffles, pointing his chopsticks over at Simon like that’s about to threaten the smirk from his face. “Those geta are damn hard to walk in, son. Ain‘t for armatures.”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Seems they’re going around the table, poking fun at their captain, and it would be Wash’s turn now. “I’ve heard horror stories. Those sandals handle worse than a gurtsler. Takes a real man to champion shoes like those.”

 

“Simon did it easy enough.”

 

Well now, if that ain’t all sorts of interesting.

 

Every face at that table turns towards River. Course none of them as fast as her brother there, jaw hanging open and coloring spreading out over his face. Reaction like that says a hell of a lot more than anyone else could have managed. “River. I… I didn‘t even tell you about… River!”

 

“Prettiest belle at the ball,” River explains in that singsong tone. Ain’t nothing crazy about it, Mal has learned. Just how a little sister sound when they’re making their older brothers turn bright red. “Ten new geisha’s at the house and only one little boy to remain standing.”

 

“I…” Always impresses Mal, how River can go and turn her brother from his professional, cold doctoring self into a stumbling little boy, just like any other lost body in this ‘verse. No amount of smarts or talent make him anything special when River starts her teasing. Doing it plenty now, from that bright little smirk she’s wearing. “That isn’t-”

 

“Sounds like quite the story to me, doc,” Mal points out, feeling this evening turning out better than he’d expected. Nice when the table weren’t all complaining and glaring at him. Better when the focus is on someone else, like a certain young doctor who‘s now staring at Mal like he don‘t know what to say.

 

Might be he enjoys seeing the doctor blushing just a little, too. Not that Mal‘s thinking too much on that. “Sure we’d all love if you’d share.”

 

“It, well, I don‘t think…” Simon looks around the crowd. Plenty of looks of interest, Kaylee all wide eyed and waiting, Wash trying not to start snickering. Mal ain’t even sure what he’s thinking, just knows it’s fun to give the boy a push now and then. River’s already started laughing.

 

Shots River quite the look, like he’s all but this close to sticking his tongue out at the girl. “Brat.”

 

Ain’t the rarest of sights, Simon smiling, but it’s nice to see. Nice to remember he ain’t just a doctor, there is a boy in there somewhere needing his family.

 

*

 

They’ve gone and lost the boy again. Gaisi, but Mal’s luck just don’t ever get any better.

 

“Ain‘t helping‘, you snifflin’ like that. Need you tellin‘ me what happened.” It’s harsh, but he needs to be the mean old captain sometimes, make sure everyone stays together. Mal takes Kaylee by the arm, leading her back towards the ship. Wouldn’t want to go losing more people than he had to in place like this. ‘Sides, girl’s shaking so hard she might go and fall right out of his hands all together if he don‘t hold her up.

 

“I… I ain’t sure. River just came to the engine, said we only got twenty seconds to hide. Thought she was playin’ a game cap’n, you know, like we sometimes do.” Kaylee has to stop and lean herself up against Mal. Beside him, Jayne looks just about ready to murder a man. Reckons his own face looks ‘bout the same. “So I try followin’ her, wantin’ to ask what she’s playin’ and these men suddenly-”

 

“Now hold on.” Mal pulls Kaylee to a halt, turning her around to make sure he can see that teary face of hers. He don’t want her lying to him right now just because she thinks Simon’s more important. There are plenty of important things aboard his ship, and she sure as all hell is one of them. “They hurt you?”

 

Kaylee shakes her head, but Mal knows when she‘s hiding something. “They grabbed at me some is all,” Kaylee admits quickly enough, once he‘s stared her down. “Few of them. Threw me back in the engine room soon enough and locked me up tight.”

 

“Those chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo… Like to show em-”

 

“Jayne.” Zoe shots him a look meant to be silence him. Mal don’t blame him, though. Anyone would go and touch Kaylee has a death coming to them worse than anything Mal could rightly do to a man. “Not now.”

 

Mal pulls Kaylee under into his arms, keeps her safe ‘til they‘re back to the ship. Can’t say if they ever find these boys again he won’t let Jayne go at them, maybe teach them a fine lesson about laying their dirty hands anywhere near his mechanic.

 

“Zoe, go see if our pilot‘s awake,” Mal snaps once they’re back to Serenity. Looks safe from here, but seems more and more it ain’t nothing people can‘t break through eventually. “Find everyone, make sure no one got themselves hurt. Ain‘t exactly got a doctor to fix‘em up at the moment.”

 

“Kaylee!” They ain’t even aboard when Inara comes running out, less composed than Mal’s ever seen her surely, pulling Kaylee into her arms. “Oh, thank goodness. I couldn’t find you after… And I thought-”

 

“Had to go and find the cap’n,” Kaylee explains, wiping her face clean on her sleeve before she hugs Inara back. Mal can’t even look at her without wanting to take a man’s life for it, so he just keeps walking up to Serenity. “We’re gonna get Simon back, right cap’n?”

 

“Get the boat locked down, make sure those gorram sons of bitches didn’t hurt anythin’ might keep us down here much longer.”

 

Mal don’t know what to tell Kaylee. Don’t know why they would come to his boat, take Simon of all people. Heard of slave traders and the likes pulling off such things when they get down near desperate enough, but then they surely would have pulled any of the rest along with ‘em. River, sure as anything might be tradable if one had that in their heads. Feds had so far made good on their promise they weren’t looking for her no more, but never could tell with the Alliance. Didn’t exactly make telling truths one of their habits.

 

But why just go and take the boy? Plenty good at what he does - doctoring people and the like, taking care of his sis when she needs it - but it ain‘t hardly the sort of thing man goes and storms a ship over. He ain’t anything special.

 

Except to this ship, he is. Mal ain’t just gonna abandon something that’s rightfully his. Don’t yet know a thing about these folks, but sure as all hell, he’s going to get their doctor back.

 

Then maybe slap him around a bit. Not sure why just yet, but the boy probably deserves it for getting the crew so worried on him.

 

Mal sends a look Inara’s way, wants to make sure she’s gonna be taking care of Kaylee. But she’s so wrapped up in caring for her, she hardly even looks up to Mal, and Jayne seems to be hovering plenty close as well. Girl is in good hands, back with people that love her, back with family.

 

Speaking of family, they’re missing one Tam already. Where’s that other one gone to? Must have been hiding, since she did go and warn the others. Couldn’t have warned her brother as well, could she?

 

Or maybe he just didn’t listen. Weren’t so hard to imagine. Boy had a way of doing what he thought best, even after Mal had gone and told him otherwise.

 

Decides to head down to her room, see if she ain’t waiting on him. Only he don’t have to go that far to find her.

 

Hadn’t expected to come downstairs and catch sight of their little witch sitting in the infirmary. Rather sure that’s the one place on all the ship she don’t like being. Hell, even had her pop up in his room a couple of time, just feeling out the walls. Never seen her just sitting ‘round the medic bay, though. Not unless Simon was about and making her.

 

“Got quite the family, don’t he?”

 

Laotian Yé, but that woman can creep up behind a man in ways shouldn‘t even be possible. Mal turns round to Zoe, scratching his face so he don’t look like he‘s been a mite twitchy, maybe even ready to grab for his gun. “Suppose he does. Mite on the crazy side at times, sure enough, but then ain‘t all families?”

 

Both of ‘em look over at River. Girl’s just sitting there all still and quiet like. Might be a touch creepifying if’n he didn’t know her. Actually, more creepifying now that he thinks about it and knowing the girl like he does. Shouldn’t be sitting so still, having whatever dark thoughts she’s letting herself have. “You could have thrown them off. More than once. Wouldn’t have tried to stop you, sir.”

 

Mal nods, arms tucked up over his chest like he‘s gotta be thinking about that. “Never reckoned you would. Woulda given me hell for it plenty of ways, though.” Gets a touch of a smile for it, which is more than he’s gotten from her in a while. “Coulda saved a whole lot a trouble, leavin’ them out on their own.”

 

Could have saved Wash, just traded in those two the first time they’d come up under his belt. Could have kicked ’em off any time, really, but sooner than he’d given it thought they gone and found a way of wrapping themselves up in the life of his ship.

 

Still, ain‘t a fair trade. Not for Zoe. Not for any of them. Nothing could have been rightful fair, giving up one life for the others. “Listen, Zoe-”

 

“Glad you kept them, sir.” She doesn’t act shaken, but then she never did. Only touched by something, something too deep for Mal to clean out of her. “They needed a home. Wouldn‘t have wanted you to take that away from them. They‘re good family.”

 

Something in the way Zoe looks at him before she leaves makes Mal feel like he’s missing something. This, before he even goes in and talks to the crazy girl.

 

“I’m not crazy,“ River announces as he slides open the medbay doors.

 

“Plenty of crazy people on this here boat. You don’t always know what’s goin‘ around in my head,” Mal points out, leaning himself up against the doors and watching her. Poor girl’s as still as anything, waiting. Mal knows that sort of waiting, did plenty of it in prison after the war.

 

“No, not always,” River says, smiling at him, her hair falling all over her face. Makes her smile look more broken than anything. “But you never do.”

 

Mal’s gonna argue the point, really plans on it but, hell, she just may be right about that. “We’ll find that wayward brother of yours.” Why would he say that, when he don‘t even know where they took Simon? Ain’t a promise Mal knows he can keep, so it’s a damn stupid one to be making.

 

The smile drops, and she’s hugging up her legs ‘til it looks like she‘s just about ready to go disappearing on him. “Made me stay away.” Please don’t start crying. Never could do any good when a girl started crying. But he can already see her eyes start shining. All he can do is sit at the edge of the table, reaching out for her all awkward like. “Fed off his fear, made me stay back so I couldn’t save him. He wanted to protect me. He’s so stupid!”

 

“Hard to argue with that, little one,” Mal agrees, wrapping his arm bout the girl‘s shoulders. Knows it ain‘t much, but figures there’s not so much he could do for River, anyway. Someone gets taken away from you, not so much anyone can do.

 

River leans herself up against him and, aiya, never thought on how much of a child she really is. Manages to forget when she goes around, acting all strange and way too smart to be normal. Harder to ignore when she‘s just a little lost sister. “Always trying to be a hero.” Mal’s not so sure who she’s talking about. Knows good and well he ain’t a hero, though, just one man trying to keep the crew together.

 

“We have to go get him,” River whispers into Mal’s shoulder. “He doesn’t want me to, but he always came for me. Doesn‘t understand. I have to.”

 

Point in time he could have just left the Tam, saved everyone a lot of pains for it, too. Point’s long been gone.

 

“You know where they took him?” Mal takes River pulling her back enough to look down at her. He believes what he told Simon, girl has a strangeness about her, can see more than anyone’s meant to be seeing. Maybe knows something Mal don’t about these folks.

 

What he gets ain’t so much a deep, mysterious look like he‘d been hoping for. “They left a note,” she deadpans, pointing at the door.

 

Mal follows her finger where a capture has been pinned up next to the door, trying to look conspicuous and get itself found. “Huh,” Mal answers slow like. “So they did.”

 

Now who comes into a ship, grabs one boy, and leaves them a note on where to go finding him? This is going nearly as well as that deal earlier. Ain’t exactly good, but ain’t as bad as it rightfully should have been. “Day’s getting a little too interesting for me, little one.”

 

“Oh,” River assures him, patting Mal’s knee like he’s the one needing comfort. “It gets much better, captain.”

 

It ain’t exactly all that reassuring, hearing her say such things.

 

*

 

By the standards Serenity has set, this kidnapping is actually turning out to be rather dull.

 

Not that Simon is having fun. They had, after all, ripped him off the ship and knocked him unconscious all for what appeared to be the sole purpose of tossing him away into what almost looked like a hospital room from back on Osiris. Simon hasn’t been inside too many jail cells, but this one appeared to be rather modern and clean. Almost enough to calm him.

 

Something is definitely wrong.

 

Simon may fall short of being a master petty thief, but in the last year he’s managed to learn a thing or two about life as a fugitive. For starters, people didn’t raid ships only so they could throw their prisoners in a well lit room with books, proper beddings, and what appeared to be a decent meals.

 

He prods at what could have easily been top shelf sushi and fried eel. The sort of food he could have easily afforded back home, so Simon never realized how that smell could curl around in the air making him almost dizzy from the pleasure of it. Imagine eating something that isn’t simply there to be healthy and filling, but that a person could savor?

 

It’s testing his strength, having this meal placed in front of him. Which is why he is absolutely sure it must be a trick of some sort.

 

He couldn’t get scared. It seemed like such an obvious thing, but Simon repeats it to himself with determination, ensuring he doesn’t slip. Every hour that goes by makes it more and more difficult to keep himself from panicking, but he couldn’t get scarred. This is like surgery, anxiety will only create disasters. He has to keep himself collected, and just wait. Wait for… for…

 

This would be easier if he had any idea what these people even wanted from him.

 

His first thought had been slavery. Kaylee had warned him of Tarfair’s bad reputation, so it didn‘t seem entirely unlikely. Only, Simon is no expert, but he’s sure people meant to be sold out to terraforming crews and the likes weren’t placed in such high tech looking suites. There is a chance this could be a room in a ship, he supposes, and he was in the process of being sold.

 

Embarrassingly enough, when he’d been younger - much younger - he’d read a few of his mother’s romance novels that she tried so valiantly to hide from guests. He still remembered the plots to a few in which the dazzling, core-breed slave was sold off to some rich independent barons out on the rim to be used for his pleasure before being saved by the handsome alliance solider. In those books the slave was almost always thrown into a room of silks and decadence, which is about as far from this institutionalized room as one could get.

 

Anyway, Simon is much, much older now. He didn’t believe those sorts of tales. Certainly, there is no handsome alliance solider coming for him unless they’ve reinstated the reward for his capture.

 

Which lead him to think up a much more likely reason that he’d been stolen from Serenity.

 

Mal had told him the operative had given them freedom, as it were, reported back to the alliance that they were no longer a threat. It could be, though, the alliance decided that they’d been wrong in letting the two go. Forgive Simon for having a hard time trusting the people that would take away his baby sister and toy with her brain.

 

Only why bother with him when they could have simply taken River? He closes his eyes, rubbing at his neck, where they’d pressured him into unconsciousness. He remembers screaming in his mind, trying to warn her, to keep her away from these men who’d stormed his infirmary. It hadn’t mattered who they had been in that moment: slavers, alliance, hell they could have been business partners of the captain. He just didn’t want them touching River.

 

The memory blurs up, but he remembers feeling oddly relieved. The feeling he gets from knowing River is safe. Of course, it’s just as likely they drugged him up and that is what he’s remembering.

 

Zu zhòu tian táng, he should have been paying attention. He should have been looking out for her. Kaylee had told him what kind of place these docks were and he’d been stupid enough to turn his back.

 

If they had River… If they were alliance, and they had River, he’d never see her again. They’d take her back to that place, and this time Simon doesn’t have the money or the strength to get her back.

 

He has to think that feeling of relief had come from knowing River was safe. She would have known to stay hidden, not let herself get caught like her idiot of a brother.

 

Oh, God, is that a gun shot?

 

Simon is glad no one is around to see him jump at the noise, scrambling off the edge of the bed. It’s the first sound that he’s heard since he’s woken up in this room hours earlier. Proof that there must be someone out there. Someone who snatched him, he reminds himself, who may want to hurt his sister or the rest of the crew.

 

He stands back from the door, shoulders raised. Whoever they are, he doubt he has a fighting chance against them, seeing as he is unarmed and they haven’t proved themselves exactly honorable. Still, he’s not about to play the coward. He isn’t going to let them see any weakness, and certainly isn‘t going to help them with their plan, no matter what it may be. Whatever it is they believe they can get out of him, Simon refuses be so easily manipulated into giving up people he cares about.

 

The door starts to slide apart and it’s very nearly enough to make Simon simply collapse. Oh, réncí de Fózu for not sending some alliance solider to come torture and abuse him until he gives over his sister. For simply sending him Mal.

 

Something about the way Mal stands gun at the ready, it could give a man the impression he is being rescued by a hero. A criminal, Simon has no doubts, but an honorable criminal.

 

There is the sound of gears grinding together, and the doors stick still halfway closed.

 

Mal’s smile drops, sliding his gun away as he tries to kick open the doors, which don‘t even budge. “Gaisi,” he curses, shouldering one side to force them apart. “Little more space here would be mighty helpful.”

 

“They jam, keep you out. Let him come to you.” River. Simon’s eyes go wide, and after that momentary shock of being rescued, he remembers who he is. Not some boy in need of a hero, but a brother. A brother who, intentionally or not, left his sister with one of the most impulsive, impossible men in the ’verse. A man who can’t even take care of his own self, and Simon actually expected him to be careful with someone else?

 

All this time in space must be turning him into an idiot.

 

“River.” Simon pushes Mal out of the way. It takes some wiggling and flexibility but he manages to slip out of the only partly open door. His sister stands up, holding what looks like the blasted off control panel for the door. “River what are you doing here?” He’s already reaching for her, brushing her hair from her face and inspecting her for any sign of damage.

 

She smiles at him, and it does calm him somewhat to see her apparently unharmed. “Came to rescue you, silly.”

 

The captain looks a little too proud of himself, Simon notes when he turns back, glowering at Mal. “What in the world were you thinking? Could you be more of an rutting fool?”

 

That has his smile faulting awfully quick. Well, he certainly deserves as much. “Hey now.” Mal puts on that stony-faced captain look of his which only makes it that much harder not to start yelling because Simon knows he‘s going to start in on that stubborn captain is always right act. “Who went and saved who now? Don’t think it was easy now, either, took us a good five hours to even find this place not to mention gettin’ in. Should be thankin’ me. Composin’ poetry, even. Let me tell you, doc, would have been plenty of people just as happy if’n I’d gone and left ya.”

 

“You’re right, captain,” Simon answers, with a sort of coldness that didn‘t let Mal know how upset Simon was with him. “Thank you for bringing my little sister into a nest of possible killers. Next time why not just give her a gun as well, maybe get a kiss for your heroism.”

 

Simon is pretty sure that he sees Ma’s jaw dropping open, but he honestly couldn’t be bothered caring if he’s managed to piss him off. He shouldn’t have pulled River into this, not after everything Simon has put himself through trying to keep her out of danger. Everything Simon does to make sure both of them are kept in one piece, and Mal would just come in here and risk getting them both injured or worse. As if he had no thoughts for how hard Simon works so that exact thing won’t happen.

 

River giggles, pulling Simon’s hand into her own. “A kiss for the hero,” she sings, looking around for a moment before she pulls Simon along. He refuses to stumble, even if he has no idea where she’s leading him. Even when she starts leading him past what appears to be a whole troop of soldiers sprawled out across the once clean floors.

 

If he wasn’t going to let some strangers see how nervous he‘d been trapped in that cell, he certainly wouldn’t allow Mal to see just how grateful he is to see him.

 

*

 

The monitors’ pictures are grainy at best but, then, the cameras had to stay small, though, hidden even from those who would know all too easily how to find them.

 

Implanted in the eyes of their volunteers soldiers, that had the easiest place for most of them and explained the horrible quality, the unfocused nature of most the footage. A few scattered in the general vicinity of the building so they would be able to track every move, from the rescue, the battle, the escape. The videos were only of use if they could study her properly.

 

Of course, River made the task far more difficult than it should have been.

 

“Can‘t have what‘s already been claimed. It isn‘t right. Isn‘t in the rules.”

 

The woman standing in front of the glowing wall of monitors frowns, pausing the images once again.

 

She is a remarkable study. She seemed to know where all the cameras had been hidden even before they landed on the base, how to dance around the equipment so only flashes of her were ever recorded. For all their technology, she remained a ghost.

 

Until, of course, she popped up in front of their final camera, dropping her brother‘s hand and staring right through all their camouflage. Staring at them, it would seem. “Can‘t have what‘s already been claimed. It isn‘t right. Isn‘t in the rules.”

 

Pause.

 

“She knows we’re watching,” the man points out. The two stood side by side with identical frowns and suits, watching only glimpses of hair and feet pass through all their grainy recordings as they rewound through the rescue once more. Watched cameras blink off or simply go still as she took down their volunteers. “She’s teasing us. Of course, she-”

 

“She would,” the woman concludes. They had been hoping they can learn something about the way she fought, how she moved. All they learned is what they had already known. She is a beautiful prototype. Mangled their security, killed most of the men they had set around the base. She‘d had help, of course, but only from a few gun totting mercenaries who seemed all to happy to gun down their little army. Still, they hardly had her flare. The certainly hadn‘t cracked that message they had left onboard, nor figured out how to fly in past the security system. “It’s amazing the alliance would give her up.”

 

“It’s our gain.” Both of them were still staring up at the dark eyes of the girl who had seen them through their walls, knew exactly where to walk and when to speak. Saw the pieces set up on their board and knock them all down without once breaking stride. They’d been right to take the brother, right in believing she would come for him. “She’s always been ours, and now we can have her.”

 

“All we have to do is call her back to us.”

 

“He could be trouble, of course. He’ll want to keep his family together.”

 

“She’s more ours than his,” the woman answers, flicking back through the tracks, watching them all at once unfold and still hardly a single clue to what they had created. Whatever it is, she belongs to them, not with a bunch of criminals. “He can‘t keep them together forever.”


	4. A Little Bit Of A Leaning

**Way Out Here**

**Chapter Four: Bit Of A Leaning**

 

“All I’m saying is it don’t make a whole lot of sense.”

 

“No, it surely don’t,” Mal draws, flipping the cortex like he knows what he’s looking for. Knowing her captain as she does, would say that’s a bit unlikely. Still, she’s seen that look on his face before. Says he wouldn’t be giving up any time soon, don’t matter how impossible it might very well turn out to be.

 

That look there is determination and frustration over his own damn stubbornness. Got them off more than a few battle fields and jobs gone bad alive.

 

With a sigh Mal straightens himself on out, flicks the cortex screen back off. “Seems our buyer back on Tarfair didn’t really exist anymore than Jayne’s sense of decency.”

 

“That ain’t saying a lot, sir.”

 

“Sort of my point.” Zoe can’t say it’s news that shocks her. Don’t exactly clear everything up, but hardly a surprise. Something had been off about that meeting right from square one. Fact that the buyer lied about his identity is just about the only thing to make sense yet.

 

“Paid the piper, kept the rat.” If River is looking to get the attention of everyone on the bridge, she manages to do just that. Not that she seems to notice, don’t even look up from the toys she’s playing with.

 

Anyone else, Zoe decides as she watches River dance the dinosaurs over the consul, anyone else and she’d be snapping their wrist back. Doesn’t much take to people disturbing what ain’t theirs. Only, she likes to think Wash would want someone to play with ‘em still, and River seems to do alright.

 

“Took Simon for their silver instead.” River looks back, smiles at Zoe as if promising to play nice. Zoe doesn’t smile back, but she ain’t so upset and that’s something.

 

“Hey.” Right, she’d forgotten the new pilot is still around. Tends to do that, just block out that whole area, pretend ain’t nothing there to see. Girl must be pretty desperate for money, staying onboard as long as she has. Wouldn’t even have to have her around if they’d just let River keep steering, but the captain thought it best not to depend on a girl whose brain sometimes goes wandering off in space.

 

Tried to do it himself at first. Well, ‘til Zoe stepped in and pointed out that it be quite the trick, driving get away and playing lead in most of their jobs. Besides, well, she respects Mal but she just don’t trust him behind the wheel that much.

 

“Hey,” the pilot repeats, leaning back in her chair to look around at the two of them. Leans back in Wash’s chair, something else that doesn’t belong to her. That she shouldn’t be touching. “Does she ever make sense?”

 

Zoe prefers when their pilots don’t go on talking. Reminds her too much of who they ain’t. “You think the same men set up the buy broke into the ship?” She asks, doing her best to just ignore the new girl.

 

“Makes as good a sense as any.” That ain’t exactly good enough for Zoe, doubts it’s a clear enough answer for Mal either but they don’t got much else to go on at the moment. “That what you trying to tell us, little girl?”

 

“You think you see everything,” River chides, shaking her finger in Mal’s face. For a second, captain actually looks like he’s gone and got himself in deep trouble, looks sorry about it and everything. Wash would’ve loved it, watching this whips of a girl tell off their big, bad captain. Warms Zoe just a tad. “Think you know all this ships crooks and secrets.”

 

Mal just stares back, eyebrow raised up until River sighs. “You should apologize for selling him.”

 

“Well now,” Zoe draws, looking back to Mal. “That don’t sound crazy at all, does it sir?” Keeps watching him, wants to check to see what her captain is thinking. Only she’s pretty sure it’s -

 

“Mei, tāmāde húndàn.” Something like that.

 

“Explains what they were paying us for,” Zoe finally says what they’ve been figuring. River gives her a nod, taps her nose. You’re on to something. “Delivering them the boy.”

 

“Don’t explain why they wanted him here in the first place.” Mal fixes his stare on River, looking for his answer. Zoe can’t figure answers are going to help them out to terribly at this point, but Mal’s to stubborn to just leave it be.

 

River snorts, nose up in the air. Looks a whole lot like her brother when she strikes that pose. “I’m not a magic box. You can’t just shake me up and pull out the answers you like.”

 

“Now…” Mal holds his hands up in something like surrender, trying to appease the girl. Could be as amusing as anything to watch at times. “I ain’t-”

 

“I don’t know!” Zoe goes tense when River slams down one of Wash’s toys. Only thing that keeps her from reaching from her, grabbing her hand back from the action figures, is the pilot squeaking and jerking the ship about. Makes it hard for Zoe to grab for anything but the wall, trying to keep herself steady. “Too much, an overload. All of it raw and bleeding and he expects me to never notice how he’s covered in it.”

 

After her little outburst and the captain is looking away from her out of guilt, over swerves back around in her chair. Picks up all the little toy pieces that had fallen about and puts each one carefully back in place. “Ask again later.”

 

Captain lifts his head, staring at River for a beat. “Man could get it in his head you’re just being stubborn with me. Like playing games with folks.”

 

“Stubborn little girl,” River sings back without giving Mal any more attention. “Never just tells the boys, never says what she means. Where’d she learn to behave so badly?”

 

Zoe bites down on her lip, keeps herself from cracking a smile. Got a fine idea who she’s talking about now.

 

Mal snorts, shaking his head. “Don’t go bad mouthing your captain, little one.”

 

“Got plenty of others in line to do that for us. Ain’t that right sir,” Zoe teases, not that anything would give it away other than the quick look Mal gives her. Like he’s forgotten that she use to say such things all the time. Almost forgot it herself, truth be told.

 

Gives her a long look, then slowly nods as he turns to leave. “Seems to be the way of it.”

 

With toys sprawled out over her skirt, River gives Mal a quick salute before he’s gone. “Going to apologize,” she announces, turning herself around and around in that chair, head tilted back to stare up at the stars. Makes Zoe think of when Wash would come and crawl into bed, mention that River had been visiting him. Filled her husband’s heads with equations and strange stories. Wash said he didn’t mind her company. Nice to have someone to talk to, someone willing to listen to all his stories.

 

My God, but that man would have made one beautiful father. Don’t seem right, he won’t ever get the chance.

 

“’Fraid you got the captain confused with another,” Zoe says, pushing herself off the wall and those thoughts out of her head. Can’t ever get rid of them, so she just tries to fight through them. “Ain’t likely to say a word to your brother.”

 

“Then they can kiss and make up,” River fills in, like a child ain’t really got a proper idea of what she’s saying. Girl has some interesting thoughts spinning around that head of hers.

 

“Hey.” It’s that pilot again, drawing Zoe’s attention to that gorram chair even when she’s trying not to think about him so hard. “Hey, is there going to be actual kissing, or is she just crazy?” She turns back to look at Zoe. Stares at her a good long while more than anyone else has been these last few months. “I’m just curious is all. How crazy is she, exactly?”

 

“Could be she’s not crazy at all,” Zoe murmurs, staring at River who’s now more interested in play time. “Could be,” she added quickly, stepping out to follow after Mal. “She’s dangerous crazy.” 

 

Shuts the door and lets the pilot think some on that.

 

*

 

“Simon!”

 

Kaylee knows good and well it’s a little wicked, watching Simon stumble about some when she sneaks up on him. Ain’t her fault he’s got to go and be flustered so easily all the time, and it’s just so  _ kě ài  _ Kaylee can’t always control herself.

 

Keeps grinning until he gives in and returns it with a nervous smile of his own. Seems a dame shame, really. They’d been getting so comfortable together, Simon not acting so proper and the like and no saying all those mean things like he use to. Then they’d survived the reavers and gotten even more cozy together and…

 

Knew good and well there were some creeps back home would sleep with a girl and then act like she don’t even exist. Kaylee couldn’t believe a boy as fine as Simon would be one of them, but at times it sure felt like that is what was happened. He’d told her later he didn’t think it was right, them getting together when everyone else was so broken. Near broke Kaylee’s heart, and she’d gone and gotten mad at him cause of it, too. After all, seemed to her the ship could have used a bit of happiness, shape it was in after that fight.

 

Even once Kaylee had forgiven him, Simon still kept acting so distant. All nervous and back to being too proper. Ain’t what Kaylee wanted. Wants Simon to enjoy being with her is all, same way she enjoys being with him.

 

So she kept acting like her usual self, hoping Simon would see she’s being friendly and start relaxing up again. “You busy at all?” She asks, standing right in the middle of the walkway. Kind of blocking him, if she’s being real honest now. Making sure he don’t just run off, tripping over himself to get away from her like he had for weeks after their big row. Wants him to know that all that’s forgiven now, and she ain’t about to let him just walk away from her again. “Cause ‘Nara’s made up some fancy tea her client bought her and I figured after the other day, you’d be looking to relax some.”

 

Least she hopes he is. So frustrating, having the old Simon back after they’d gotten so close to something.

 

“I…” Almost giggles right at him when Simon looks away, starts rubbing at his chest. Ain’t something Kaylee noticed on her own, but Inara pointed it out when they was watching him talk with the captain. How Simon has all these nervous little habits, and each one of them so endearing. “Well, it’s my turn to prepare dinner so I thought-”

 

“Ah, you don’t have to do that now.” Kaylee bats her eyelashes up at him, getting Simon just off guard enough to grab his hand and haul him off towards Inara’s shuttle. Gotta be a little forceful every now and again, only way to get him to unwind up some. Always got to hold himself so respectable and tightly coiled. Kaylee’s doing him a favor, forcing him to gave some fun. “Be plenty of time for that. ’Sides, ’Nara’s already got it all set up.”

 

Simon stumbles some, but follows after Kaylee even once she’s let him go. Might be he’ll ease up some once they’re in Inara’s shuttle. Probably a bit closer to what Simon is use to, what with all the rich silks and colors and stuff. Probably just like home for him. Least, what Kaylee imagine his life was like back on Osiris. Brilliant, wealthy doctor going out to tons of fancy parties and living in one of those mansions like the ones Inara’s customers take her too.

 

Kinda makes her feel small when she thinks of it, what kind of girls Simon probably had back home. Beautiful young woman, smarter than Kaylee and a sight nicer, too. Always clean and wearing the finest of clothes, like Inara’s. Probably there, Simon weren’t nervous at all, probably had girls falling all over him and ain’t never tried to wiggle away from them like he does with Kaylee.

 

“Ah…” Inara’s shuttle smells like spring time, and Kaylee smiles when she enters the shuttle. Tries to forget all about the girls Simon has back home. “I see you managed to find the good Dr. Tam.”

 

“Oh, it smells so good,” Kaylee says with a huge smile, dropping down onto one of the pillows Inara had set out. “Don’t it smell good, Simon?”

 

“It certainly does.” Sure enough, Simon does seem to fit in here with an ease. He kneels down, looks a whole lot like Inara. Maybe ain’t so graceful, but has a proudness to him. He picks up the tea taking in a deep breath. “Grown on Sihnon?”

 

“It is, in fact,” Inara replies with one of those pretty smiles of her own, companion smile Kaylee thinks. Ain’t never anything but beautiful, got a rich sereneness to it. Lot like Simon, really, when he’s in that infirmary of his, working to save their lives.

 

Puts funny ideas in a girl’s head. Looking between the two of them. So very similar, pretty and well to do and the likes. Might be that’s what Simon is looking for in a girl and it don’t matter how long Kaylee is waiting. 

  
  
  
  
  


*

 

Mal has too many thoughts need pondering, and he ain’t got the time or patients for a one of them.

  
  


Mei, tāmāde húndàn: Motherhumping son of a bitch

Kě ài: Adorable

_ Réncí de Fózu _ : Mercifull Buddha


End file.
